In an unprecedented move, South Korea's opposition-controlled parliament has voted to impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who has been serving as acting president following the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol.
During a televised plenary session, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik announced that the motion to impeach Han was passed with 192 votes in favor out of the 300-member unicameral parliament. This marks the first time in South Korea's modern history that an impeachment motion against an acting president has been both proposed and approved.
Leading up to the vote, 108 lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party boycotted the session, chanting slogans like \"Null and void\" and \"Resign, speaker\" in front of the parliamentary speaker. The ruling and opposition parties were divided on the required majority for the impeachment, with the People Power Party advocating for 200 votes and the opposition parties maintaining that a majority of 151 votes was sufficient since Han is a cabinet member.
With the parliamentary approval, Han Duck-soo's duties will be suspended pending the constitutional court's deliberation. In his stead, Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, who also serves as the deputy prime minister for economic affairs, will assume the role of acting president.
The impeachment of Han came after he refused to approve the appointment of three constitutional court justices responsible for filling vacancies on the nine-member bench handling Yoon's impeachment trial. Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment was approved by the National Assembly on December 14 and has been referred to the constitutional court for deliberation over the next 180 days. During this period, Yoon's presidential powers have been suspended.
Yoon, who was implicated by investigative agencies on insurrection charges, had declared an emergency martial law on the night of December 3. However, the National Assembly swiftly revoked the martial law just hours later. For Yoon to be ousted from office, at least six out of the nine constitutional court justices must uphold the impeachment motion.
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South Korean parliament votes to impeach acting President Han
cgtn.com
